Thursday, October 14, 2010

I have two big crabapple trees but usually by the time the weather gets cold I'm too tired to bother messing with them.

Then I saw this post on how to make crabapple butter and I knew what I was going to do with all those bright red little guys. I picked three big buckets full of crabapples then rinsed them off and tossed them into the pot with a bit of water (don't worry about the stems or cores, you'll strain those out eventually).

After ten or so minutes of stirring them around in the boiling water until they start breaking up they're ready for the next step. I pushed them through a sieve with the back of a wooden spoon which produced a large bowl of pink crabapple mush (which you see sitting on my counter there). A little sugar to taste, a little cinnamon for a kick and then I was ready to boil it down to its butter form.

I boiled it and boiled it until my house smelled like heaven and I had a big pot of sweet-tart crabapple butter. Not only is it good on toast but it's good on pancakes and as a filling for cinnamon rolls or pastries.

In fact, you can use crabapple butter anywhere you'd like a boost of fruity sweetness (I particularly like it on top of my oatmeal) and I imagine they'd be great in these Sticky Apple Butter Biscuits.

If you want a bucket of your own you can have what's left on my trees.

Oh, yeah, I wish I COULD get those crabapples! I grew up in Wisconsin, on a farm, and we had crabapple trees, too. My mom would can spiced, whole crabapples, and I could eat a whole jar myself. They were the perfect blend of sweet and spice. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Unfortunately, Missouri and California? Not big states for the little crabapple. Bummer.